The name of this blog, “At Every Gate,” is from Emily Dickinson’s poem #453 (she didn’t title her poems, and neither does her editor, R.W. Franklin). The last stanza reads
Retreat – was out of Hope- / Behind – a Sealed Route – / Eternity’s White Flag – Before / And God – at every Gate.
This is a family blog, meaning it’s about family. I am Dad, Skip, Dr. Stevens to some, Ralph to others. Just in case you want to know. For purposes of this blog I happen to be the Pater Familias meaning simply that I’m the oldest member of the family and I happen to be a father.
The audience for this blog is the members of my family. This simply means that when I write I am thinking of my family, I am writing to them. But this is a public blog. I don’t mind others reading it, and those who do are members of my “blog family.” I only hope that you who read this, whether family or not, are folks who will cut me some slack. I like to think that those who read are people who could watch me having a nightmare and still be kind to me.
There are a lot of things I wish I knew about family, things that did NOT come up in conversation when I was a boy, and that probably are not coming up in conversation now. This blog exists as an attempt to correct this by telling something of the family story.
At Every Gate 